An Unbreakable and Unshakeable Legacy - April 19, 2026

We're stepping into a very crucial time in the life, in the history of the world. We're stepping in. Into a time where as a church, we're about to ask to nominate an elder. Bill will be. Bruckheimer will be rotating off next May. And so for the first time since we originally nominated and voted on the three lay elders to be part of our leadership of our church, we're about to enter into a time where in May, we're going to ask you to prayerfully consider who might be the elder that would replace Bill next year. All of May, we'll be taking nominations, there'll be forms to fill out. And then in June, as the elders, we'll be looking over those and prayerfully considering and inviting a few people to come on board in a yoke fellow program where they'll spend, we'll spend about a year together where we train up and we look for and discern who does the Lord have for us. And then we'll bring that person back before the church for a vote to affirm. It's a very important time in the life of our church. But I would suggest to you, every environment has a culture everywhere and culture is shaped by its leaders. Because you see, the leaders are the ones who set the pace. They're the ones who embody the culture. A home. The pace of the home is set by who, contrary to the kids belief, it's set by the parents. Isn't it. A business, a workplace. The culture is set by the CEO, by the leaders, the owners, the executive team, an athletic team. The pace is set by who? The coach. The tone of the team is set by the coach. And the same is true in the church. The leaders set the pace of the church. And that's why it's so important for us as we enter this time of looking at, reflecting upon, praying for our leaders. We ought to always be doing that, but especially at this time. Look, we don't just drift into health. Our families just don't naturally become healthy. Our sports teams don't just naturally win and set a culture. Culture. Our churches don't just naturally drift into health. No, the pace is set by the leaders. And as we look at first Timothy today, it's one of the three pastoral epistles in the Bible. Paul is writing to his young children in the faith. He calls them his sons in the faith. He's writing to Timothy in first and second Timothy and in Titus. Just take a wild guess at who he's writing to. Titus. Good. These men have been set up over churches and Paul has been pouring into them and now he's left them to then set up leadership and to right the wrongs in the church. Churches. And as specifically in Timothy, Paul is writing to Timothy who is the leader of the church in Ephesus and he's saying, Timothy, there's a huge problem with this church. There are people who are rising up that are leading others astray. They are teaching false doctrine and they are, they are leading people away from the gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of Christ. Have you seen recently where there is a, I believe she calls herself a bishop or something of a church that has said, hey, we need a third gospel because the Bible is not practical for today's environment. Have you seen that? The Bible warns us that as we get closer and closer to the end times, there will be people that will get, that will gather around them, people who will teach them whatever their itching ears want to hear. And part of the responsibility for leaders as overseers is to ensure that the word of God is taught and that they refute those who are teaching improper doctrine and scripture. And so Paul is writing to Timothy, saying, timothy, there's a huge issue here. There are people who are rising up to lead your church that are not following Jesus and they're leading the church in Ephesus astray. And then he goes on to talk about a lot's at stake in this, and so be wise about who the leaders in the church are. Look at first Timothy, chapter three with me, beginning with verse one, he says this, the saying is trustworthy. Now, that idea, this saying is trustworthy, is only used a few times in scripture. Scripture. And, and what Paul is doing here is saying, hey, pay attention. It's like in school when your teacher tells you something five times in a row, you think that might be on the test. Did anyone learn that? Like I had to the hard way in college, right? Paul is telling Timothy, hey, Timothy, pay attention. This matters. And it matters more than just what you think. It's not just a passing blow. This is important. He says, this is a trustworthy saying. If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore, an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober minded, self controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not quarrel, quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity, keeping his children submissive. For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil or the trap of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil. The first thing I want us to see about leadership. And if you think that this just applies to the church, you're mightily mistaken. This applies to all of us as we talk about maturing in our relationship, relationship with the Lord. These characteristics, these qualities, yes, they're here and in Titus, but they're all over the Scripture. When Paul talks about, When Peter talks about going from an infant to a mature believer, and so these aren't just, oh, well, I'm not going to be an overseer, an elder, so I don't need to worry about this. No, no, no. The picture here is that we all should be mature in these things. This is the evidence of someone who's maturing in their relationship with Jesus. These characteristics, and it's not all inclusive. So let me ask you this question. How many of you been in a believer over. Let's just go over 20 years. Anyone? How about over 50 years? There's a few of you in here. Okay, I won't go any older than that. The picture is you may be old in age and you may have gone to church all your life and you may have read the Bible a hundred times through, but it's not about how many times you read the Bible through through. It's how much of the Bible gets through you. That's the picture. Unless you think this is just about leadership in the church, it's really leadership for everywhere. You and I would be wise to look at this and to go, does my life reflect these things? And as we think about who would be that person to lead our church, to be a part of the elder team to lead. Look, it's not, does this person, like, can this person attain these things? No, no, no, no. It's do they already reflect them in their life? And the question I have for you, if you're going to lead your family well, if you're going to lead your workplace well, if you're going to lead your friendship circles in school, well, is, do you reflect these. Paul says, if anyone aspires to verse one, if anyone aspires to. This is a noteworthy ambition or desire to serve, not a worldly ambition. So it's not, hey, I want to be a leader. Look at me, look at me, right? This is the idea that I have this white hot burning passion to help people find and follow Jesus, right? That's our mission. It is man. I see the brokenness in our world. I see people who are in need of the Savior. I have this burning passion to help call out the Jesus and people and help them. That's the passion we're talking about. It is a noteworthy, a noble task. He says if anyone aspires to be not a worldly ambition, but a desire to serve, it is a noble task. They aspire to that picture of noble, we all think of noble. We think of all like someone that man everybody looks up to, Right? It's not the picture here. The picture is a beautiful or weighty responsibility. Let me say that again because I Think some of you missed it. A noble task is a beautiful or a weighty responsibility. The weightiness, the weightiness of overseeing or leading people, whether it's in the church or in your place of business, or at school with your friendship circles or in the home with your household. And I think some of us miss that. We want all the accolades without any of the responsibility. We call that a backseat driver. Hey, let me tell you how to do it. Let me always second guess you, but I don't have any of the weight of the responsibility for doing it. Right. That's that Monday morning quarterback that tries to second guess what the coach did to lead his team. Right? It's a noble task. Look, leadership in the church is not a reward. It's not a reward for being wealthy, for being powerful, for being the longest standing member in a church. It's not a platform. It is a calling. It is a calling to shepherd the people of God. That Christ poured out his blood on the cross to save it is a weighty responsibility. In fact, Acts chapter 20, verse 28. Paul says, Keep watch over yourselves. So Paul is on his way. This is the last time that he's going to be talking to these elders. He's gathered them together, he's on his way to Rome and eventually he knows he'll die there. He's gathered them together to encourage them and he says to them, keep watch over yourselves. So he tells the elders or the overseers of the church, keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, be shepherds of God's church, which he bought with his own blood. Let me back up for a second and say, as we share, overseer, as we talk about pastor and elder, they're all three used in the same sense here to describe the people who lead the church. But he says the church belongs to God and it was bought with Christ's own blood. And the call is to watch over, keep watch over yourselves first and then also the church, the flock that God has given you to shepherd them, to love them, to care for them, and to lovingly lead them. Church is not to be a consumeristic mentality. Gimme, gimme, gimme. But we are the church and our role is to be formed into the image of Christ. We are to bear the image of Christ in church as the church. In the first century culture, in the Jewish culture, there were natural people who would rise up to be elders. The church wasn't like us, where we gathered just one day a week, but there were house Churches all over the community. So a city would have multiple churches and houses that were, that were in different neighborhoods, if you will. And the people would gather in each of those houses and, and they would do life together day in and day out. I mean, it's like you would know all of your neighbors and what would happen is there would be people who would naturally live the life of Christ in their community that people would be attracted to and follow. You see, it wasn't a title given, it was a life that was well lived and people took note of that and followed. That was first century church. But if you recall Jesus in the Gospels, when the two disciples are fighting over who will sit at his right hand and left hand, do you remember that? And he says, look, the Gentiles, Lord, leadership over, over you don't be like them. You see the, the Gentile culture which, the church of Ephesus, the churches in Crete were of the Gentile culture. They, they had this tier, right? A hierarchy of positions. And it was based on charisma, not character. Who had the most money, who was the strongest, who was the most powerful. That's how they base their leadership. So when Paul is writing to Timothy, he's saying, timothy, you're going to have to overcome this. So teach them that leadership is about character, not charisma. And our world, doesn't our world base leadership on charisma more than character? That's probably a reason why so many churches and cultures and businesses are struggling, because it's based more on talent than it is on the character of a person. Or to borrow a speech from a famous man, the content of their character. So before we ask who should lead, maybe we ought to ask ourselves who was called and who is carrying this weight of leading already? Who already is owning the responsibility for leading others well, serving them, ministering to them, loving them. The second thing that we see here is that leaders don't just make decisions, but they model. They model the direction. They model the culture. Paul says in verse two, and we kind of miss it here in the esv, but it says if anyone desires or aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be, and then he goes into the character of the overseer. We miss. The actual word here in the Greek is, therefore it behooves, right? Everybody say behooves. Behooves, right? That's a good old King James version word, right? But that word is important, important there because the expression in the Greek is it is absolutely necessary. Every Time this word is used in the scripture, it behooves that word carries with it the weightiness of. Hey. It's not just a suggestion. Therefore, because, because it's such a weighty task, it is absolutely necessary that this is their character. Character. That's what he's saying. In other words, don't put someone in leadership whose character is not like this. Don't put them there because they have the most money or because they won a popularity contest or because they've been at the church the longest or because they have the most charisma. No, no. Judge them by the content of their character. Character. That's the person that you should want to follow. Not the one who talks the loudest. Not the one who talks the most. No, no. The one whose life talks the most. By the way, they, Our lives speak louder than our lips. So the first thing he says is they are to be above reproach. Now that doesn't mean perfect. This word above reproach is the idea of the umbrella over everything he's about to say. But their life is aligned. In other words, their words and their life align. I say I believe in Jesus. I say I've given my life to him. I say I'm a follower of Jesus and my life reflects that. There's alignment or integrity, we would say. But he says above reproach and respectable. There's no gap between who I am in private and who I am in public. Public. The second thing he talks about in here is to be sober minded and self controlled. He talks about and not given to drunkenness or excess. Is the actual picture here. That is the picture of an anchored life. Look, this is a picture of self leadership. If you can't lead yourself well, if you're not self disciplined, if your life is out of control, here's the best picture I can think of is does it have control over you? And we're not just talking about alcohol, anything in excess. He goes on to talk about money. Does money own you or do you own own it? Does the sex own you or do you own it? Do drugs own you or do you own them? You get the picture. And so it's to be a self disciplined and anchored life. My life is anchored in the word of God. We're going to get to that in a minute. The third thing we see, see here is that we are to be the husband of one wife. We are to be faithful in our marriage. So there's all kinds of debate and I'm not going to go into it all Right here about what that phrasing means. But the picture here of what Paul is trying to convey is a pure life, a life of purity. Does that mean that a widowed person who is remarried can't be. No, it doesn't mean that. It means have they lived a life of integrity and faithfulness and purity to their spouse, if they have one. He also says, gentle but not violent. In other words, gentleness is a picture of a power under control and how they treat others. He says, not quarrelsome man. I know people that every time you turn around, all they want to do is complain and quarrel about things and insignificant things, or when there's a topic, all they want to do. It's just my way or no way, right? But do they have a spirit? Do they have a spirit of togetherness and unity? Do you know what Jesus prayed for? For you remember the great high priestly prayer he prayed over his disciples before he left? Do you remember that? What was the number one thing he prayed for anybody? Unity. Unity. I pray they would love one another. I pray for unity within them. And so a relationally healthy life. Does this person get along with? Do they love well? Are they faithful in their marriage? Are they gentle and not given to violence? Do they not intimidate others? The next one number next. I think it's five on your outline. Four on your outline. Sorry. A welcoming life. Are they hospitable, in other words? I get along with all kinds of people. I welcome them, I love them well. I'm hospitable to people. I have an emotional equal queue where I love people well, even if they're not like me. Or if they're not like me, do I just kind of reject them? Push them away? Talk bad about them behind their back? Gossip? Or am I welcome mean to people? The fifth thing here, able to teach. He goes in to say, able to teach. That picture is a life that has been grounded in the truth. Titus 1:9 clarifies. What does he mean by able to teach? Does that mean giftedness? Because if so, it would be the only gifted that Paul talks about in all of this, about character. And some people would say, yeah, they have to be a good teacher. I would just say, if you look at Titus 1:9, if you look at where he clarifies, has to do more of the character again than it does your gifting. And here's what Titus 1:9. I don't think we have it up there, there. But it says he must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught. You got a picture of that as he goes on, as he talks about able to teach, it is a person who holds firm to the word of God. So that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. So I am so consumed with the Word of God, it is in my heart and I live it in my life, and I know it, that I am able not only to give instruction to people in the Word of God, not in human rationale or worldly wisdom, but in godly wisdom. And I'm not afraid to do it, to give the whole counsel of God, but also I'm willing to stand up and to rebuke those who don't teach God's Word. You with me? Especially in this environment, when that's exactly what they were doing, they were leading the church astray. You have to know God's Word and hide it in your heart. And it has to so consume you that you base your life on it that you're able to instruct others, not harshly, but in a loving, kind, caring way. All of truth and all of grace. Jesus came and grace and truth were to live at that intersection in our lives. Grace and truth. Truth. And so I'm to instruct all of God's truth in all of the grace of God and to rebuke those who would lead others astray. So in other words, if you're one of our small group leaders or if you're leading a Bible study on our campus and you're not teaching the word of God, our role is to step in and in love and in grace. Rebuke you say, no, no, no, no, no. In this church, we teach the Word of God faithfully. None of our teachers are doing that that I'm aware of. I'm just saying if that happens, that's what we're to do. Or if you're one of those who is stirring up people that would lead against the Word of God and the instruction of God's Word, we are to stand up and say, no, no, no, that is not what God's Word teaches and says. A life grounded in the truth. Number six, the last one. A life that's free. And this kind of goes back to one we mentioned earlier. But not a lover of money and not given to drunkenness. Right. That nothing of this world ties them down. That they are a servant of Jesus and they are grounded and anchored in the Word of God, not in the stuff of this earth. You're not owned by anything that this world has to offer. Because here's the thing. Leaders reproduce themselves in their followers, in their culture, in their environment. Here's what I mean by this, Parents, we reproduce ourselves in our kids. Have you ever noticed that, that you behave and say things your parents did when you were a kid? Anyone? Things you like and don't like, right? Can I get an amen? There you go. We are reproducing ourselves. Look, you can't be Charles Barkley and go, I don't want to be an influence on people, right? No, you are. Like it or not, you are. Every single one of us in here has influence on people. And we have a responsibility for what we're reproducing in those people. People that we influence and lead. Look, if you're anxious, guess what happens. The church will become anxious. Your family will become anxious, right? If you're undisciplined, guess what will happen. If you don't lead out of love, guess what's going to happen. If, by contrast, if you're hungry, humble, guess what happens. If you're friendly, if you're kind to people, guess what will happen. Eventually, the culture that you're in, it will mold to the form of its leaders. And we know as the family of God. Our goal is to be shaped into the community of Christ, that we become like Christ. The third point here is that leadership is proven over time. Paul says, not a recent convert and someone who leads their house well and is respected by outsiders. Why? Well, because leadership in the church is proven over time. It's faithful and obedience to God and his Word over time. It's not about future potential. It's about what are they doing right now. Churches often make the mistake of going, well, I know, not right now, but, man, if we put them in leadership, well, surely they'll attend church more. I mean, you laugh. I've seen that. That in churches. No, no, no. Leadership is what we already recognize in the character of people. Are they worthy? Are they Christlike? Now to where they're worthy to follow and to say, as Paul said, follow me as I follow Jesus, man. So leadership is proven over time. Leadership. Not a recent convert, someone who there's evidence that they're leading their family well, Someone who's respected by the world, around the world, Them, their place of business, their neighbors, the waiter or waitress that just waited on in the restaurant. It's important and it's tested over time. How do they respond? Because everybody can put on an act for a time and for an audience, But that's not the goal. The goal is, who are you? Is There evidence that Christ lives in you. There's three arenas he talks about of the testing here. One is the home, the second one is the church, and the third one is the world. So in the home, do they lead well in the home, in the church, are they already leading well, serving people and discipling people and investing in people's lives and instructing people with care and love? And in the world, what is their reputation like with those outside of the church? Are they respected? Are they loved? Look, we don't judge leaders based on power or money or title, but on the content of their character. That's what leadership is in the church. That's what faithful leadership to Christ is. So when leadership goes wrong, people get hurt. If you put the wrong leader in place, people are going to get hurt. You don't have to look. And I don't have to remind you of all the incidents we see that in business, business, in political life, in families and even, yes, in the church. I mean, there was a pastor who fell, had this huge church, fell and moved to another town and started a church. And he's grown it again by thousands. And I'm not one to judge, but I just go, and apparently he's doing some of the same things at the church he's at, that he was at. And I go, charisma can build a great, a big number of people. But are we following Jesus? When leadership goes wrong, people get hurt. Paul gives us some warnings here. He says that if it's a new convert, pride and puffing up could happen and they could fall into the devil's trap. And that if they don't have a good reputation with outsiders, well, they can lead to public disgrace. And when that, when these things happen, people's faith gets shaken, trust is broken and our witness for the Lord is damaged. And so it is important that we lead. Lead well. Hebrews 13 reminds us, Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will have to give account. And let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. They keep watch over our souls. First Peter 5 tells us, Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them not because you must, but because you're willing, as God wants you to be. Not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve. Listen. Not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to God. Flock. And then Jesus in Mark 10, when those two disciples are arguing who, when he comes into his Kingdom, can I sit at your right and the other one at your left? These were James and John, the brothers, right? And all the other disciples hear about this and get mad. And it creates this turmoil because it was a clamoring for position and for power and for recognition, not out of serving. And then Jesus says, the Gentiles do that. Don't you do that? Not so with you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man has come not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. So let me ask you this. What's your next step? Leadership is about our character maturing in Christ. Not about a platform, not about power or control, not about self esteem to puff you up. Are you leading well? Are you leading well in your homes? Are you leading well in your friendship circles? Are you leading well in your neighborhood, in your community? Are you leading well at home? Are you leading well here in the church? You know, we look over this list and some of us can think it's impossible. And you're right on your own it is. But the Bible tells us that Christ has come to save us of our sin and not. Not just to patch up our old life, but he has come to, to give us new life, that we may have life in Him. The first step to leading well is to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ. Because when Christ comes in, he makes all things new and he can do that for, for you. And so today, if you're here and you don't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, I want to encourage you. The Bible says that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Jesus said, hey, just come follow me. Are you willing to do that, to trust in him above all else, especially above yourself? If so, in a minute, I'm going to lead us in a time of prayer and I want to invite you to pray that with me. There's others in this room. The question is, what's next? I'm going to ask you to fast and to pray throughout the month of. Of May. Maybe it's a meal a week, maybe it's a day a week. Maybe it's fasting from food, maybe it's fasting from social media or whatever it is. But fast and commit yourself to praying for the decision that we're making of who might that next elder be in May, you're going to get the form. And you're going to, we're going to encourage you to, to nominate someone and we're asking you to talk to them first. But look, I don't want you to just do it off the cuff. We want to know the Lord is in this. And so we're going to ask you to fast and to pray. The next thing I want you to do is this. Throughout the month of May, I want you to read the pastoral epistles. That's first Peter. I mean, I'm sorry, first Timothy, second Timothy and Titus, 13 chapters. Look, I don't want you to pick a chapter a day. I want you to read them all. At least, at least once a week, if not every day. Some of you, you could do it every day. You got the time. It's just prioritizing. Because I want you to see how, how the scripture tells us to discern leadership. And then I wanted to ask these questions to you. Ask yourself this, where is my life out of alignment with God? Where of these is God calling me to mature in my walk with Him? And am I leading myself? Well, because before I can lead others, I've got to lead myself. Some of you in here, you may be young parents in a couple weeks.